Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Pittsburgh vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Pittsburgh is 90.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.4 times more in Pittsburgh
Groceries: pay 92.8% more in Pittsburgh
Transportation: pay 69.3% more in Pittsburgh
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Pittsburgh
Childcare: pay 25.7% more in Pittsburgh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.3% more in Pittsburgh
Clothing: pay 0.8% more in Pittsburgh

The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and childcare in Pittsburgh are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Pittsburgh.

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Pittsburgh vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Pittsburgh instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$20.00	+347.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.00	+91.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.67	+344.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.11	+470.4%
Average			+240.3%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 92.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.77	+91.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$7.24	-15.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.65	-32.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.80	+182.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$5.72	+286.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.36	+137.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.67	-13.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.85	+104.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.56	+232.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.10	+208.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.15	+165.1%
Average			+92.8%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of groceries

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pay 69.3% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.12	-17.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$97.50	+226.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,446.00	+88.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$16.40	+189.4%
Average			+69.3%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$70.00	+563.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,570.00	+51.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,111.33	+88.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$193.52	+339.3%
Average			+108.9%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of housing

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pay 25.7% more for childcare

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,778.14	+25.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$34,752.27	+25.5%
Average			+25.7%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.50	+444.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.98	+48.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$11.03	+195.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$44.50	-32.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.00	+34.1%
Average			+65.3%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Pittsburgh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$46.06	-15.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$47.41	+27.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$74.38	-1.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$102.42	-3.1%
Average			+0.8%

Shanghai vs. Pittsburgh - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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